Chopping device

ABSTRACT

A device for chopping or cutting up brush garden trimmings and other waste material to a size suitable for use as a mulch or compost comprises a mounting plate with edge means for securing it like a removable cover on a container. An opening on one side of the plate is spaced radially from its center and feed means are provided around the opening for directing the material through it. Centrally mounted on the plate is a motor whose shaft extends to the underside of the plate. A cutting blade is fixed to the shaft and operates with a fixed blade near the opening to cut up materials forced through it.

United States Patent Brokaw 1 CHOPPING DEVICE [72] Inventor: George K. Brokaw, 110 Forest Ln.,

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,558,255 6/1951 Johnson et al. ..241/100X 2,620,988 12/1952 Tellier ..241/l00X .[4 Mar. 21, 1972 Tormey ..'...241/l86 Johnson ..24l/l90 X Primary Examiner-Robert L. Spruill Attorney-Owen, Wickersham & Erickson [57] ABSTRACT A device for chopping or cutting up brush garden trimmings and other waste material to a size suitable for use as a mulch or compost comprises a mounting plate with edge means for securing it like a removable cover on a container. An opening on one side of the plate is spaced radially from its center and feed means are provided around the opening for directing the material through it. Centrally mounted on the plate is a motor whose shaft extends to the underside of the plate. A cutting blade is fixed to the shaft and operates with a fixed blade near the opening to cut up materials forced? through it.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMARZI 1972 FIG..?)

INVENTOR.

K 0 i R B K. m E E N m m m w G A Y B CHOPPING DEVICE This invention relates to a chopping device for brush cuttings or garden trimmings and other waste products that will convert them to a size suitable for use in mulching or composting in the garden.

The disposal of garden waste products has long been a problem for home gardeners and particularly so in recent years when burning became a prohibited practice because of the air pollution it produced. A general object of the present invention is to provide an efficient means for the gardener to dispose of wide variety of garden waste products without burning or removing them from his premises to a disposal site.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that will not only dispose of waste garden cuttings and trimmings but which will convert them to a very useable and valuable mulching or composting material that can greatly improve the soil.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that can be removably placed like a cover on a standard container such as a garbage can so that the latter can store the cut-up material as it is formed and yet with the device being easily removable for storage when not in use.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a brush cutting device that can be operated easily by one person with a high degree of safety.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a brush cutting device for home gardeners that is particularly adaptable for ease and economy of manufacture.

Other objects, advantages and features of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof presented with the accompanying drawings, in which: l I

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of my brush cutting device as it appears when attached to a standard container;

FIG. 2 is a larger view in plan ofthe cutting device shown in FIG. 1 with a portion thereof broken away;

FIG. 3 is a view in section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

' FIG. 4 is an enlarged view in section taken of FIG. 2.

With reference to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a brush cutting device embodying the principles of the present invention as it appears when normally in use and attached like a cover to a standard container 12 such as a refuse can. Generally, the device comprises a fairly rigid disclike plate member 14, preferably made of metal or a suitable plastic and having a downwardly extending side wall portion 16 around its periphery. Centrally located on the plate member is a power unit such as an electrical motor 18 which is fixed thereto by suitable mounting bolts 20. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shaft 22 ofthe motor extends vertically through an opening 24 in the plate and is connected to the center hub portion ofa rotary cutter blade 26. The cutter blade has identically shaped enlarged portions at both ends each with a cutting edge 28 having a length of around 4 to 6 inches.

Spaced radially outwardly from the motor 18 is an opening 30 on the plate member having approximately the same width as the length of the cutting edges 28 on the cutter. Fixed to the underside of the plate member 14 near one side of the opening 30 is a short stationary cutter member 32 that also extends radially from the center of the plate member. This cutter member is preferably held in position by a pair of screws 34 against a shim 36 which can be varied in thickness so that the cutting edge of the cutter member 32 can be positioned close to the cutting edges 28 of the rotary cutter as they pass by.

Mounted above and around the opening 30 on the plate member are means which help control the feeding of brush and other materials while also providing for the safety of the operator. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a pair of side wall members 34 are fixed to opposite sides of the opening and are interconnected by an end wall member 36. The latter wall is bent to form a downwardly sloped upper portion 38 that converges toward a lower vertical portion 40 extending upwardly along line 4-4 from one end edge of the opening 30. In this lower end wall portion 40 is an elongated horizontal opening 42 and extending partially through it is a stationary roller 44. This roller has a roughened surface such as a rubber roller with corrugations or it may be some other material having small protuberances which help to grip the material as it is fed through to be chopped. The ends of the roller are journaled in the side wall members 34 and an axial outer end 46 extends through the side wall member and is attached to a crank handle 48. Spaced from a stationary roller 44 is a movable roller 50 which is mounted for rotation on the end of a sloping guard plate 52. Spaced downwardly from its upper end, the plate 52 has a pair of brackets 54 that are pivotally attached to pins 56 on the op posite side wall members 34. A coil spring 58 fixed to the upper end of the plate 52 is fixed by a retaining nut 60 at its lower end to the plate member near the opening 30. This spring has a force sufficient to bias the plate 52 upwardly and thereby position the roller 50 near the fixed roller 44 so that the plate 52 covers the opening 30.

In operation, the motor, which may be as small as a HP, is turned on and allowed to come up to its normal speed. Garden waste materials such as small branches, shrub trimmings and the like may be fed into the feeding control means. As shown in FIG. 1, as the cutting blade rotates the op erator turns the crank handle 48 with one hand while the brush material is pushed downwardly with his other hand. Downward pressure on the sloping plate 52 deflects it against the force of the spring 58 so that an opening is formed which is large enough to accommodate the material being cut up. As the brush extends through the opening it is cut to small pieces by the rotary cutter blade 26 acting in cooperation with the fixed cutter member 32. At a normal rotary speed provided by the electric motor (e.g., 1,200 rpm, the rotary blade moves fast enough so that a fairly fast feed rate for the brush material can be used and still chop or cut up the material into fairly small chips or particles. Naturally, the slower the feed rate the finer the particles or chips that are produced.

From the foregoing, it should be apparent that the present invention provides a highly useful tool, particularly for the home gardener who must constantly get rid of weeds, brush, shrub trimmings and the like, but cannot burn or haul them away. The device 10 not only is safe and easy to operate but is capable of producing a finely cut up material that is extremely valuable in building up soil for future use.

To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest them selves without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

Iclaim:

1. A portable device for cutting brush and shrub trimmings into relatively small particles suitable for use as a soil mulch, comprising:

a disclike plate member forming a cover for a portable container to catch and collect the cut material having a first, relatively small opening and a second larger opening spaced from said first opening;

an electric motor of no more than 0.5 HP fixed to the upper side of said plate member having an output shaft extending downwardly through said first opening therein;

a rotary cutting member having enlarged cutting end portions passing under said second opening fixed to said output shaft;

means carried by and adjacent the plate member for controlling the feeding of brush material through said second opening; and

means on said plate member for readily detachably retaining it on said portable container.

2. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said latter means for retaining said plate member comprises a downwardly extending wall member integral with the periphery of said plate member.

3. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said plate member has a circular shape and said means for retaining it on a container is a cylindrical wall member around its periphery.

4. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said means for controlling the feeding of material through said second opening comprises a pair of side wall members on opposite sides of said second opening, an end wall between said side wall members, a fixed roller extending partially through said end wall, and means for rotating said fixed roller.

5. The device as described in claim 4 including a pivotal plate forming a guard means, and spring means attached to said pivotal plate normally urging it to a position whereby it covers said second opening when no material is passing therethrough.

6. A device as described in claim 1 including a cutter member fixed to the plate member adjacent said second opening cooperating with said rotary cutting member.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for controlling the feeding of material through said second opening comprises roller means.

8. A device for cutting brush and shrub trimmings into relatively small particles suitable for use as a soil mulch, comprismg:

a disclike plate member having a first relatively small opening and a second larger opening spaced from said first opening;

a power unit fixed to the upper side of said plate member having an output shaft extending downwardly through said first opening therein;

a rotary cutting member fixed to said output shaft;

means for controlling the feeding of brush material through said second opening; and

means on said plate member for retaining it on a container adapted for catching and collecting the cut up material, said means for controlling the feeding of material through said second opening comprising a pair of side wall members on opposite sides of said second opening, an end wall between said side wall members, and fixed roller extending partially through said end wall, and means for rotating said fixed roller.

9. The device as described in claim 8 including a pivotal plate forming a guard means, and spring means attached to said pivotal plate normally urging it to a position whereby it covers said second opening when no material is passing therethrough.

10. The device as described in claim 9 including a roller carried by said pivotal plate and cooperating with said fixed roller. 

1. A portable device for cutting brush and shrub trimmings into relatively small particles suitable for use as a soil mulch, comprising: a disclike plate member forming a cover for a portable container to catch and collect the cut material having a first, relatively small opening and a second larger opening spaced from said first opening; an electric motor of no more than 0.5 HP fixed to the upper side of said plate member having an output shaft extending downwardly through said first opening therein; a rotary cutting member having enlarged cutting end portions passing under said second opening fixed to said output shaft; means carried by and adjacent the plate member for controlling the feeding of brush material through said second opening; and means on said plate member for readily detachably retaining it on said portable container.
 2. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said latter means for retaining said plate member comprises a downwardly extending wall member integral with the periphery of said plate member.
 3. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said plate member has a circular shape and said means for retaining it on a container is a cylindrical wall member around its periphery.
 4. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said means for controlling the feeding of material through said second opening comprises a pair of side wall members on opposite sides of said second opening, an end wall between said side wall members, a fixed roller extending partially through said end wall, and means for rotating said fixed roller.
 5. The device as described in claim 4 including a pivotal plate forming a guard means, and spring means attached to said pivotal plate normally urging it to a position whereby it covers said second opening when no material is passing therethrough.
 6. A device as described in claim 1 including a cutter member fixed to the plate member adjacent said second opening cooperating with said rotary cutting member.
 7. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for controlling the feeding of material through said second opening comprises roller means.
 8. A device for cutting brush and shrub trimmings into relatively small particles suitable for use as a soil mulch, comprising: a disclike plate member having a first relatively small opening and a second larger opening spaced from said first opening; a power unit fixed to the upper side of said plate member having an output shaft extending downwardly through said first opening therein; a rotary cutting member fixed to said output shaft; means for controlling the feeding of brush material through said second opening; and means on said plate member for retaining it on a container adapted for catching and collecting the cut up material, said means for controlling the feeding of material through said second opening comprising a pair of side wall members on opposite sides of said second opening, an end wall between said side wall members, and fixed roller extending partially through said end wall, and means for rotating said fixed roller.
 9. The device as described in claim 8 including a pivotal plate forming a guard means, and spring means attached to said pivotal plate normally urging it to a position whereby it covers said second opening when no material is passing therethrough.
 10. The device as described in claim 9 including a roller carried by said pivotal plate and cooperating with said fixed roller. 